Arts & Culture

A concert preview of “I Never Saw Another Butterfly, Music of the Holocaust” from the MSU College of Music.

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18:45

Preview of MSU College of Music's concert "I Never Saw Another Butterfly, Music of the Holocaust" with samples of the titular work, which sets poetry from children of the Terezin concentration camp to music.

It’s Tuesday night at DeVos Performance Hall in downtown Grand Rapids. The orchestra is preparing to play music by Giuseppe Verdi, but taking the podium is Maestro James Meena, new artistic director of Opera Grand Rapids.

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3:47

Interview with Maestro James Meena, new Artistic Director of Opera Grand Rapids, who opens their season with Verdi's Rigoletto.

This week, the Michigan Humanities Council kicks off the 2017 Great Michigan Read. It’s a statewide literacy program that encourages people to learn more about our Michigan culture by reading a selected book.

Rocío Quispe-Agnoli is a professor at Michigan State University who specializes in topics including Colonial Latin American Studies and Women's and Gender Studies. WKAR’s Karel Vega spoke with Quispe-Agnoli about the evolution of Hispanic identity in modern times.

Michigan classical fans may have noticed that the Lansing Symphony’s season is off to a late start. That’s because this past summer’s new roof project at the Wharton Center meant pushing back a few weeks. But WKAR’s Jamie Paisley spoke with Maestro Timothy Muffitt about how the LSO used the October start to its advantage.

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4:00

Lansing Symphony's Maestro Timothy Muffitt on the late start of the LSO's 2017-18 season, which takes advantage of the spooky month of October.

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! is NPR's weekly hour-long quiz program, hosted by Peter Sagal. Each week listeners test their knowledge against some of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world while figuring out what's real news and what's made up. Sagal talked with WKAR Station Manager Peter Whorf about what makes the show so much fun.

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2:14

WKAR's Peter Whorf talks with Wait Wait! Don't Tell Me host Peter Sagal about the show which returns to WKAR on the weekend of October 7.

The small town in Calhoun County is displaying 28 skeletons downtown as part of its inaugural Skeleton Fest, which runs through Halloween.

There are skeletons riding a bike, drinking coffee and even playing Twister. Jane Reid of the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance says the goal is to attract people who don't mind something a little ghoulish. She says maybe they'll stick around and explore.

Wine and Spirits Magazine named six of the country’s best new sommeliers in their October issue, and one of them is right in our backyard. Justin King is the owner of Bridge Street Social in Dewitt. Katie Cook talks to him about wine and hospitality in Michigan.

Dr. Matthew Aubin split last season the Jackson Symphony Orchestra with outgoing director Stephen Osmond. This year, however, it’s all him. WKAR’s Jamie Paisley spoke with Aubin about Saturday night’s season-opener at Jackson’s Potter Center, which starts with a toe-tapper by Leonard Bernstein.

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4:01

Interview with Matthew Aubin of the Jackson Symphony about the opening concert of their 2017-18 season.